Department of Health and Social Care

Dementia: Diagnosis

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the diagnosis of dementia is (a) more accurate and (b) given at the earliest opportunity.

Helen Whately: NHS England and NHS Improvement are continuing to encourage memory assessment services to provide safe and person-centred assessment and diagnosis for dementia, via remote methods or in face-to-face consultations as appropriate. To ensure accurate diagnosis, webinars and guidance have been provided to support evolving best practice and an approach to diagnosis that supports patient choice.To ensure early diagnosis, the Government has made £17 million available this financial year to NHS England and NHS Improvement to reduce dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) steps his Department is taking to encourage take up of the covid-19 vaccinations amongst health workers and (b) guidance and support his Department is offering to staff who may be hesitant about receiving a covid-19 vaccine.

Helen Whately: The ‘UK COVID-19 vaccine uptake plan’ sets out our approach to maximise the number of people taking up the offer of vaccination. The plan is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-uptake-plan/uk-covid-19-vaccine-uptake-planWe are working at a local and national level to give health and social care workers information about the vaccine with information from trusted, local leaders and to ensure there is appropriate outreach from clinicians and vaccine services.The Government launched a six-week consultation in April to inform the decision on whether to make the COVID-19 vaccination a condition of deployment in adult care homes. The responses highlighted a clear public health rationale to consider extending this policy to other settings where people vulnerable to COVID-19 may also receive care. The Government will shortly launch a further public consultation on whether to make COVID-19 vaccination a condition of deployment in healthcare and the wider social care sector, to help protect patients and the people they care for.

Thalidomide Trust

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when discussions with the Thalidomide Trust on support for ongoing health needs beyond 2022-23 will conclude.

Helen Whately: On 3 March 2021, we committed to continue the Thalidomide Health Grant beyond 31 March 2023. This commitment includes an initial payment of approximately £39 million for the first four years after the current grant ends. Future funding figures will be confirmed every four years following an assessment of need.

Disability: Children

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding by the Disabled Children’s Partnership’s in their report, Left Behind, published 16 July 2021, that nearly three quarters of disabled children have seen their progress managing their conditions reversed in the covid-19 outbreak, what plans he has to ensure that disabled children can (a) regain lost progress and (b) improve their ability in managing their condition.

Helen Whately: As part of COVID-19 recovery planning we are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health services to disabled children, including support for managing their condition. In 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement published guidance making clear that restoration of essential community services must be prioritised for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities aged up to 25 years old and who have an Education Health and Care Plan in place or are going through an assessment for one. We have invested £6.6 billion from March to September 2021 to help National Health Service recovery and an additional £1 billion to reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children, to access NHS services.

Abortion: Drugs

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will publish its response to its consultation on the home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks' gestation.

Helen Whately: The consultation has now closed. We are considering all evidence submitted and plan to publish our response later this year.

Carers: Recruitment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a specific minimum wage for care workers to assist with recruitment and retention of care staff.

Helen Whately: We have no current plans to make an assessment. The vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who ultimately set their pay independent of central Government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine a fair rate of pay based on local market conditions.

Social Services: Pay

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that adult social care workers are paid a wage which meets the (a) the Real Living Wage standards and (b) wage of equivalent NHS roles.

Helen Whately: The vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who ultimately set their pay, independent of central Government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine a fair rate of pay based on local market conditions.

Abortion: Drugs

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of permitting both pills for early medical abortions to be taken at home on NHS services.

Helen Whately: The Government’s public consultation on whether to make permanent the temporary measure allowing for home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks gestation for all eligible women has now closed. We are considering all evidence submitted and plan to publish our response later this year.

Nurses: Training

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses were trained in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019 and (d) 2020.

Helen Whately: The following table shows Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) data on people who trained in England and joined the nursing register for the first time in each financial year between 2017 and 2020. To join the nursing register, students complete pre-registration training on a nursing degree course before applying to the NMC following graduation.  2017/20182018/20192019/20202020/202117,80719,22220,87119,949 Source –The NMC Register in England 2021Note:Each year runs from 1 April to 31 March.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS services are able to accurately diagnose all the subgroups of dementia.

Helen Whately: NHS England and NHS Improvement are continuing to encourage memory assessment services to provide safe and person-centred assessment and diagnosis, via remote methods or in face-to-face consultations as appropriate for all types of dementia diagnoses. Webinars and guidance have been provided to support evolving best practice and an approach to diagnosis that supports patient choice. The ‘Memory Service Assessments: A New Way of Working’ guidance specifically sets out considerations for subtyping a diagnosis of dementia as part of the diagnostic pathway and is available at the following link:http://www.yhscn.nhs.uk/media/PDFs/mhdn/Dementia/Covid 19/MAS/MSA - A New Way of Working revised Dec 2020.pdf

Respite Care

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that carers have access to breaks from their caring responsibilities.

Helen Whately: The Care Act 2014 secured important rights for carers, including an assessment of, and support for, their specific needs where eligible. Local authorities have been able to access the £1.49 billion Infection Control Fund which has been used to help day services reopen safely or be reconfigured to work in a COVID-19 secure way. We have also committed at least £6.9 billion in 2021-2022 to the Better Care Fund, which includes funding that can be used for respite services. In addition, we have worked with the Social Care Institute for Excellence to publish guidance for day care managers, commissioners, and providers, to help them make decisions on the safe operation of day services.We will continue to work with local authorities, in collaboration with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to ensure, where possible, the safe resumption of these services.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons it is mandatory for care home staff to receive a covid-19 vaccine and not domiciliary care staff.

Helen Whately: The independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies Social Care Working Group has highlighted that people living in care homes have been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Without high uptake among staff in care homes, there is a significant risk of the virus spreading further and causing harm to residents and those who cannot take the vaccine for medical reasons.The responses to the consultation made a case for extending this policy beyond care homes to other settings where people vulnerable to COVID-19 receive care. Therefore, a consultation on vaccination as condition of deployment in NHS and wider social care settings will be launched in the coming weeks.

Physiotherapy: Children

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to physiotherapy appointments for disabled children; and what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS Trust meet their targets for referrals to such appointments.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Disabled Children’s Partnerships Left Behind report, what progress has been made on ensuring that every disabled child can access (a) physiotherapy, (b) occupational and speech and language and (c) other therapies therapies they need; and what steps he is taking to ensure that disabled children are able to catch-up on the therapies they missed during the covid-19 outbreak.

Helen Whately: As part of COVID-19 recovery planning we are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health services, including therapies, to disabled children. In 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement published guidance making clear that restoration of essential community services, including therapeutic support, must be prioritised for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities aged up to 25 years old and who have an Education Health and Care Plan in place or are going through an assessment for one. We have invested £6.6 billion from March to September 2021 to help National Health Service recovery and asked that systems ensure health inequalities are tackled in their recovery plans. We have also provided an additional £1 billion in 2021-22 to reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children, to access NHS services.

Hospitals: Staff

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to mitigate the impact of staff absences in NHS hospitals in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne Central, (b) North East region and (c) England.

Helen Whately: On 19 July we published national guidance that applies to all National Health Service hospitals, including those in Newcastle upon Tyne Central and the North East region. If there is a risk that staff absence would lead to potential patient harm then staff who are fully vaccinated, 14 days after their second dose, may be brought back to work ahead of the self-isolation period, following a local risk assessment.The following safeguards should be implemented; an immediate negative polymerase chain reaction test prior to returning to work; provision of subsequent negative daily lateral flow device tests for a minimum of seven days with test results reported to both Test and Trace and their line management; appropriate use of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, including social distancing in the workplace when not undertaking clinical work; and the use of personal protective equipment in line with current IPC guidance.These guidelines give employers the ‘right to allow’ not to ‘compel’ staff to return to work. Where staff can work from home or care can be delivered online or by phone this should continue to be the preferred option.

Coronavirus: Death

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS staff have died from covid-19 since March 2020.

Helen Whately: Data published by the Office for National Statistics’ shows that between 9 March 2020 and 7 May 2021, there were 639 registered deaths involving COVID-19 among healthcare workers and 922 deaths among social care workers in England aged 20 to 64 years old, using last known occupation. The definition of healthcare workers includes both those employed in the National Health Service and wider healthcare sector workers.

Transplant Surgery: Coronavirus

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of an increase in covid-19 infections and hospitalisations over summer 2021 on the ability of patients who require a transplant to receive one.

Helen Whately: NHS England and NHS Improvement and NHS Blood and Transplant are working closely with transplant units to optimise organ utilisation, including facilitating a patient’s move to an alternative unit where possible. NHS England and NHS Improvement have published guidance to local systems to support the restoration and recovery of solid organ transplants and regional teams have developed recovery plans. This includes streamlined pathways for the provision of solid organ transplantation and the associated critical care capacity, informed by different COVID-19 scenarios.

Hospitals: Consultants

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the Royal College of Physicians' (RCP) eleventh survey of RCP members and fellows that 27 per cent of consultants expect to retire in the next three years and many within the next 18 months, whether the NHS has a plan in place to prevent staff shortages.

Helen Whately: In April 2021 there were over 4,000 more doctors working in hospital and community health service settings compared to April 2020. This includes almost 1,500 more consultants and around 2,200 more doctors in training. We have increased the number of medical school places by 1,500 over recent years, opening five new medical schools across the country. NHS England and NHS Improvement are leading work on retaining our current medical workforce including supporting groups who may be more likely to leave following COVID-19 through the Generational retention programme.

Carers: Career Development

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to develop a career pathway for care staff.

Helen Whately: The Department funds a range of training opportunities to help develop career pathways in adult social care, including funding Skills for Care to further develop their leadership programmes and the Workforce Development Fund which offers employers access to funding to support their staff, as well as support and essential development opportunities for regulated professionals in social care. The Department is continuing to provide financial support to students to qualify as social workers through the Social Work Bursary and Education Support Grant, as well as expanding the Think Ahead Mental Health Social Work Scheme. In addition, the Government is investing £2.5 billion in the National Skills Fund which includes £95 million of funding to give adults free access to level 3 qualifications.

Care Homes: Dual Jobholding

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason people working in care homes are not allowed to work in other care settings during the covid-19 outbreak but are allowed to gain secondary employment in (a) the hospitality sector, (b) the retail sector and (c) other employment settings.

Helen Whately: Restricting the movement of staff between care homes and other health and care settings remains essential to minimise the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks and infection in care homes. Findings from research published in July 2020 included some common factors in care homes with higher levels of infection amongst staff, which included some care home practices such as care homes employing staff who work across multiple sites.

Social Services: Reform

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Department plans to publish a social care plan.

Helen Whately: The Government is committed to reforming the adult social care system and will bring forward proposals in 2021.

NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme 2020

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2020 to Question 70487, how many and what proportion of claims to the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme have been successful (a) in 2020, (b) in 2021 and (c) to date.

Helen Whately: In 2020, there were 280 claims to the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme. Of these, 242 were successful. Two cases had been rejected as they did not meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme, and the remainder were under consideration.In 2021, there have been 342 new claims to the Scheme to 21 July when the latest data was released. Of these, 279 have been successful. As of 21 July 2021, there have been 622 claims to the Scheme. Of these, 521 claims have been successful. These figures are inclusive of claims received and accepted in 2020. Eight cases have been rejected and the remainder are under consideration.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to help protect people from covid-19 infection in care home settings in the event that further easing of covid-19 restrictions is announced for the 19 July 2021.

Helen Whately: On 27 June 2021, we announced a further £251 million of adult social care COVID-19 support through and extension of the Infection Control and Rapid Testing Fund. To prevent infections entering care homes, anyone who is likely to be infectious should continue to be discharged to a setting that meets a set of agreed standards to provide safe care for COVID-19 positive residents. The Government has extended the supply of free personal protective equipment for the adult social care sector until the end of March 2022.Our guidance is kept under continuous review based on the emerging international and domestic evidence and we will continue to update our policies accordingly.

Mental Health Services

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will appoint an independent commissioner to oversee the closure of inappropriate inpatient care units and increased funding for community care to ensure that people can move from those institutions and be supported closer to home.

Helen Whately: We do not currently have any plans to do so. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. All providers of regulated activities, including National Health Service and independent providers, must register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. The CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use if the provider does not meet them. These include cancelling registration. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to increased investment in intensive, crisis and forensic community support for people with a learning disability and autistic people by 2023/24.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any research has been carried out into the reasons for which the number of patients having IVF treatment compared to the number of successful cycles has not improved in recent years.

Helen Whately: Recent data show that the number of in vitro fertilisation cycles and birth rates have both increased over time for all patients under 43. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s annual statistics on trends in fertility treatment is available at the following link:www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/publications/research-and-data/fertility-treatment-2019-trends-and-figures

Carers

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to make a comparative assessment of the number of (a) people requiring care and (b) carers who are qualified and employed in England.

Helen Whately: The Government uses national level modelling from the London School of Economics’ Care Policy and Evaluation to understand how demand for publicly funded long-term care is likely to change in the future. The latest evidence shows that the demand for publicly funded long-term care is likely to grow in the coming years.On assessing the number of carers who are qualified and employed, the majority of roles in adult social care do not have formal qualification requirements, whilst the number of workers employed today does not necessarily indicate how many people will choose to join the workforce in the future. Any assessment of workforce numbers would also need to account for the invaluable role played by informal carers.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2021 to Question 28345 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK residents vaccinated against covid-19 whilst overseas with a (a) Pfizer, (b) Oxford-AstraZeneca and (c) Moderna vaccine are able to be certified as vaccinated by the UK.

Nadhim Zahawi: We currently undertaking work to agree which regulators from around the world have similar stringent standards as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This will be finalised in due course and will allow recognition of vaccines administered abroad. Once a decision has been made, NHSX will provide access to a NHS COVID Pass for those eligible.

Care Homes: Vacancies

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to address the shortage of care home staff in (a) York and (b) nationally.

Helen Whately: We expect councils to take an active role in developing the capacity of the adult social care workforce in their local area. The Department is also taking action to support recruitment into the adult social care sector, including a national recruitment campaign across broadcast, digital and social media. We are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to promote adult social care careers to jobseekers.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on mandatory covid-19 vaccinations for care home staff.

Helen Whately: The regulations will require care home providers to deploy only those workers and volunteers who have received a complete course of their COVID-19 vaccination, unless they are medically exempt. Any professionals visiting a care home, such as healthcare workers, tradespeople, hairdressers and beauticians and Care Quality Commission inspectors will also be required to show they have been vaccinated before entering the home, unless they have a medical exemption. There will be a 16-week grace period from when the regulations are made to when they come into force to enable staff to receive the vaccine.

Conditions of Employment

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for social care staff and their employment rights of mandating covid-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment for those workers when that was not part of their existing employment contract.

Helen Whately: The proposed regulations to make vaccination a condition of deployment in care homes apply to all staff employed directly by the care home, those engaged via an agency and any volunteers deployed in the care home. The regulations contain a 16-week grace period from when they are made to when they come into force to enable staff who have not been vaccinated to take up the vaccine or obtain evidence that they are exempt.Care homes will be expected to comply at all times with employment legislation and adhere to good employment practice in ensuring adherence to the regulations. This includes communicating the requirement and timescales to be vaccinated or obtain an exemption to staff as soon as possible, notifying staff of and the potential consequences of not doing so, and consulting and engaging with staff and exploring redeployment opportunities. Further details of good employment practice that care homes will be encouraged to follow will be set out in guidance which will be published as soon as possible.

Cancer: Staff

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increased investment in the clinical oncology workforce.

Helen Whately: Discussions are ongoing between the Department and HM Treasury on the potential for further investment in the National Health Service workforce, including for clinical oncology, as part of the Spending Review process.

Social Services: Reform

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress the Government has made on social care reform.

Helen Whately: We are working closely with local and national partners to ensure our approach to reform is informed by diverse perspectives, including those with lived experience of the care sector. The Government is committed to reforming the adult social care system and will bring forward proposals in 2021.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the numbers of care staff that will leave the care sector as a result of his policy of mandatory covid-19 vaccinations for care home staff.

Helen Whately: The Government will be setting out analysis of the number of current staff who we estimate may not be vaccinated or exempt by the end of the 16-week grace period in an impact assessment to be published shortly.

Abortion

Sally-Ann Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to review the current 24 week time limit on abortion on the grounds of risk of injury to the physical or mental health of a pregnant woman or any of her children based on the latest science on viability.

Helen Whately: It would be for Parliament to decide whether to make any changes to the law on abortion. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows hon. Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.

Social Services: Career Development

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to encourage (a) school age children and (b) adults to pursue a career in social care.

Helen Whately: We are working closely with the Department for Education and Skills for Care to make social care a more attractive career option. We are supporting apprenticeships, traineeships and other development programmes in social care and have provided the Prince’s Trust with £20 million to support up to 10,000 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into employment in the health and social care sector. We ran a national recruitment campaign across broadcast, digital and social media and we are working with the Department of Work and Pensions to promote adult social care careers to jobseekers. The Department has provided £27 million to expand the Think Ahead programme to train 360 graduates and career switchers to become mental health social workers and distribute approximately £12 million a year through the Workforce Development Fund to support people working in adult social care to undertake training and qualifications.

Abortion: Drugs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that people using fake names cannot acquire access to early medical abortion pills at home.

Helen Whately: Eligibility for National Health Service funded abortions is determined by providers during the consultation process, including whether verification of identity of the individual is needed.

Health Services and Social Services: Social Distancing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to support health and social care staff who choose to continue to apply social distancing measures.

Helen Whately: It remains mandatory for National Health Service staff, visitors, and patients to continue to follow social distancing measures while accessing or visiting healthcare settings, including the use of face masks. This applies to all health services including hospitals, general practitioner practices, dental practices, optometrists and pharmacies.Due to the nature and vulnerability of people receiving care in social care settings, staff will continue to wear personal protective equipment and practice strict infection control. Visitors are also asked to continue to book appointments, take a test on the day of their visit to the care home, wear a mask throughout their visit, wash hands thoroughly on arrival and limit close contact with residents to help keep care home residents safe.